NSW
Prawn run gets things going SWANSEA
Jason Nunn
By the time you read this we will have had our first prawn run, which is a trigger event that really kicks the fishing up a notch. All the prawns moving around bring in predators like bream and big whiting, and that’s what we’ve been waiting on. This
condition after gorging on the prawns. Before the run, even the big whiting aren’t carrying much weight, and their fillets are very lean. However, if you can target them after they’ve had a week or so of feeding on the prawns, they have greater body mass. Both bream and whiting are being taken on the flats, particularly from Salts Bay to Marks Point, and we’re
also seeing good numbers of flathead caught. We are starting to see quite a few flatties in relatively shallow water, but again, we have to have some sun and warmth to really get them going. Anglers have been catching a nice mixture of fish, from 50cm up to 80cm+ at times. Remember that the daily bag limit for flathead is now five, and all flatties over 70cm must be released. You can find more information on the new regulations on the DPI
Fisheries website. If you want to chase flathead in the estuary after the prawn run, when the fish are on the flats, my tip is to use paddle tails or grub tails between 3-5” long. I often find the 4” size to be the best, either a paddle tail or grub tail. When fishing in the shallower water, the natural type colours work well, such as bloodworm, pumpkinseed and motor oil – anything with a brownish, prawny type look. You can slow roll them or give them a bit of a flick. You can also use bigger swimbaits to try to entice a bigger class of fish for catch and release. Of course, all this depends on how much rain we get by the time you read this. A big fresh will force a lot of the fish out of the shallow water back into the slightly deeper water. If this is the case, you’ll want to shift your focus to water that’s 3m or deeper. Surface lures are productive at this time of year. You can use 100mm or better, such as Sugapens, and work the shallower water for flathead in that whiting zone. You can get a bycatch of flathead while doing this, as they are prowling around, hoping to munch on smaller whiting. Swimbaits work well on bigger flathead in the shallower water, provided we don’t get a big rain event. The prawn run will trigger the squid as well. In the beginning of November, after the first prawn run, we should see the numbers start to build with a few squid starting to get over that dropover area, particularly on the run-out tide chasing the prawns. During the run-out tide you can chase the squid in the channel itself, and some guys go to the bridge and fish for them on the last of the runout tide. I think the squid situation in the lake will improve 10-fold after the prawn run in the beginning of November. This month if weather
the coast hovering around 17-18°C, with a larger finger of warmer water off the north coast. There’s a good chance this will have moved further south by the time you read this, meaning we could have 20°C water a little bit wider out now. So generally, I’d be aiming for snapper, trevally, flathead, jackets and morwong from the shallower close-in reefs, out to 100m. Having said that, kingfish are also probably worth targeting. The bigger kings can be targeted out wide on jigs or live baits, and the smaller rats can be caught in close around the shallower reefs, bommies and headlands. As with offshore fishing at any time of the year, it’s a good idea to be constantly
checking weather and sea forecasts and doing the rounds on social media to see how things are going both here and up the coast. I’m not the biggest fan of social media when it comes to fishing, as what you see can be a bit deceiving at times. Overall though, internet technology puts us way ahead of how it was in the past, trying to work things out with fishing! Mostly, fishing should continue to improve from this point on. Right now though, I’d be mainly concentrating on estuary fishing for bream and flathead, if you simply want to enjoy some success without too much hassle. Still though, consider rock, beach or offshore options if the weather seems suitable.
Some nice pan-size snapper have been caught lately. Image courtesy of Sandy Bottom Boat Charters. run will be exactly what the doctor ordered, with anglers enjoying the build-up of fish within our estuary. In recent weeks, even though it has been quite cool, anglers have been catching whiting on surface lures in the shallows. Fishing with surface lures after the prawn run should be more productive, provided we get some warmth. I personally don’t like to target whiting until we’ve had our first prawn run, because the whiting put on so much From page 72
November isn’t the greatest month for rock fishing, but it’s certainly worth trying if you’re keen. While it’s hard to predict ocean currents and water temps, especially at the time of year, I can confidently say that we are more likely to have cooler water, so it makes sense to still be sticking with winter species like luderick, bream, drummer, tailor and salmon. Offshore fishing also falls into this sort of category, meaning that it’s a good idea to target cool water species, while at the same time, keep an eye on ocean temps and forecasts. At the time of typing up this month’s column, we’ve got water along
warms we should get more whiting and bream along the beaches. Tailor have moved on and the salmon have started to dissipate, so the main targets are whiting and bream. As we move towards December we will see whiting numbers build along our coastal beaches, and Blacksmiths Beach in particular fishes very well for the whiting which spill out of the lake. We should also see a build-up of numbers along Blacksmiths breakwater, which is a good summer landbased spot for whiting. Tube worms are a particularly good bait when you’re fishing for whiting, not only off the beach but also the breakwater. The whiting often seem to prefer them over beachworms. The new moon in the beginning of November is a good time to fish for mulloway in the lake and also along our beaches, as the water temperatures start to rise. I saw some photos recently of a few 85-90cm mulloway being caught out around the bait schools. Not all bait schools are created equal, you need to sound up the schools that are actively being attacked, and watch for fish blowing up on the surface and birds working. Locations like Belmont Bay and over towards Coal Point at this time of year tend to produce a few fish, so in November it’s worth a stab there. Blue swimmer crab catches have been pretty good lately, and I anticipate that will continue as it did last year. We had very good crab numbers right through until Christmas, so fingers crossed that will happen this year. Early signs are pretty promising. There has been no more news from EPA about the second fish kill. The wind from the north was blamed for the first kill, but the second kill happened during a southerly, so it seems that
A local legend with a couple of snapper. Image courtesy of Sandy Bottom Boat Charters.
another factor is the culprit for both kill events, which happened adjacent to the outlet of the power station. It’s estimated that a total of 15,000 fish died, which is a great loss. Hopefully I will have more to report in the next issue. Watch this space. Offshore unfortunately it’s been a bit up and down. Northeasters have been a bit of an issue, along with southerlies, rain and east coast lows. November is a reasonably tough time offshore. There are bluespot flathead and a few little snapper and trevally on the inshore reefs but it’s too soon to see many summer species being caught. We need more time and improvement in water currents. There have been some snapper and kingfish in the deeper water, but weather conditions have been unfavourable for boats wanting to get out there. When it comes to bluewater fishing, there isn’t much to report. We just haven’t got that good water that we need. I went out recently and couldn’t find any yellowfin. What we did see
was millions of bluebottles 45 miles out – there was a 50m band of them along a current line as far as I could see north and south. Hopefully over the next month, things will start to improve offshore. With a bit of luck I will be able to report some striped marlin. They have been caught between Port Macquarie and Seals Rocks, so hopefully it won’t be too long before they turn up here. Watch this space. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait as well as a huge range of rods, reels, lures and accessories. They also sell and service outboard motors, and have a competitively-priced selection of new and second-hand boats. The friendly staff are all experienced local anglers, and they’re always happy to share their knowledge, whether you’re a novice or experienced angler. Drop in for a chat at 804 Pacific Highway, Marks Point, or give them a call on (02) 4945 2152. You can also find them on Facebook, or check out their website at www. fishermanswarehouse.com.au.
A good feed caught aboard Sandy Bottom Boat Charters. Image courtesy of Sandy Bottom Boat Charters. NOVEMBER 2022
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